khaosworks | I had it done. (Reply)

From:

I read all the horror stories first; I suggest a web site called 'I Know Why Refractive Surgeons Wear Glasses' (I think - it's been a while) to get a good selection of them. I read everything that could go wrong, and I read the Navy's study of long-term effects of PRK and LASIK on its personnel, and I read several other books on the possibilities. I learned what the popping noises would be and the proper names of all the medical devices involved, which look surprisingly like they were invented by Torquemada or something. Wanted to know everything scary possible, to make sure I was ready for this.

Then I selected a doctor who performs 400 of the LASIK procedures a year, and who teaches corneal and refractive surgery at the state medical school. He'd done a friend, and he's spent his entire career making the human cornea work properly - usually after corneal ulcers or herpes-derived cornea damage.

Fifteen minutes. No Valium. Just pharmaceutical cocaine drops in both eyes, plus some steroids and antibiotics. I got up afterwards and could read the clock 20 feet away for the first time since fourth grade. The next day, I tested out at 20/15 vision under the American system. I'd been 20/400 before.

That was in 1999. I'm still seeing 20/15. A friend of mine selected a different doctor; he was around 20/150 or so, and he's 20/30 now, and has been having many problems. I think it's mostly because he chose the wrong doctor. It all comes down to the doctor - pick soeone very, very experienced, someone who's done it for years and who has few lawsuits against him. Don't choose someone cheap, or someone you know personally, the way my friend did; pick someone who's good and who can do the procedure QUICKLY (the faster he works, the less chance there is of infection or other mistake). Pick someone with a long track history of the procedure. Experience is the key.

For the record, it cost me $5300 American in 1999, and I don't regret one penny of it. But I personally think I got the best doctor in the northeastern U. S. for the job.